Ice making apparatus



4 mwvvvvvvw u 2 Sheets-Sheet l zia-.A

Inventor G. S. HILL ICE MAKING APPARATUS Figi Original Filed April 27. 1943 Nov. 6, 1945.

George S. HiI-I,

His Attorey,

Nov. 6, 1945. G. s. HILL R@ 22,539

ICEIAKIHG APPARATUS original Filed April 27, 1943 2 sheets-sheet 2 4 '-Ihverwbor: George 5. Hill, 1.4M w

His Attorn ey y j' Reissued Nov..6, 1945 ICE MAimxG. APPARATUS George S. Hill, North East', Pa., assigner toGrexi- York eral Electric Company, a corporation of New Original No. 2,374,997, dated May 1, 1945, Serial No. 484,726, April 27, 1943. Application for ref issue August 20, 1945, Serial No. 611,616

, 9 Claims.I (Cl. 62-2) My invention relates to refrlgerating apparatus and particularly to such apparatus for automatically freezing water or other liquids to form blocks of frozen Imaterial.

Apparatus has been provided heretofore for freezing liquid and for automatically electing the frozen blocks so that the molds may be employed continuously to form a supplyof ice blocks. These devices have the [advantage that it is possible to make considerable quantities of ice in the form of small blocks Without the necessity of providing great numbers of molds. Difliculty has been experienced with apparatus of this type because of the necessity of providing measured quantities of the water or other liquid to be frozen so that the molds will not overflow and spill the liquid about the apparatus. Ac-

cordingly, it is an Object of my invention tY provide an improved apparatus for automatically making blocks of ice or similar material.

It is another object of my invention to provide apparatus for making blocks of ice or similar material, and which includes an improved arrangement for facilitating the removal of .blocks of ice from the freezing mold.

Further objects and advantages of my invention will become apparent as the following description proceeds, and the features of novelty which characterize my invention will be pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming' a part of this specification.

For a better understanding of my invention, reference may be had to the accompanying drawings in which Fig. 1 is a partial front elevation view of a household refrigerator provided with an ice making apparatus embodying my invention; Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectional side elevation of the ice making apparatus shown in Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a front elevation view of a portion of the apparatus shown in Fig. 2; and Fig. 4 is a schematic diagram of the electric control for the apparatus shown in the other figures.

Briefly, the freezing apparatus illustrated in the drawings comprises a freezing cell arranged to be cooled by the evaporator of a refrigerating machine and an arrangement for supplying 1iq uid to be frozen from a thermally insulated Ychamber below the cell. An ice block ejecting plunger is provided which is actuated by a cam mechanism, the arrangement being such that the cell is automatically filled upon the restoration of the ejecting plunger to its normal position. The head of the plunger may be constructed so that it closes the lower end of the cell and forms the bottom wall of the ice mold and the upper portion of the walls of the insulated chamber below the cell is constructed to form the lower portion of the side wall of the cell in such a manner that freezing of the liquid about the plunger is prevented. A timing mecha- ,freezing water desserts and the like.

nism is provided to operate the cam mechanism and eject ice blocks periodically until the supply of liquid has been exhausted.

Referring now to the drawings, the refrigerator illustrated in Fig. 1 comprises a thermally insulated cabinet N having a door II for closing a food storage compartment I2; an evaporator or cooling unit I3 is provided to cool the air within the food storage compartment and thereby to cool articles which may be placed on grills or shelves I4 within the compartment. The evaporator I3 provides a freezing chamber closed by a door I5, this chamber being suitable for the storage of frozen foods and also for In order to provide a. supply of -ice blocks Without the necessity of using up the storage space within the evaporator, an ice freezing apparatus IE is mounted at the side of the evaporator I3 and is arranged to receive Water from a supply reservoir or bottle IT and to supply ice blocks to a collecting pan or receiver Il. The freezing apparatus Itis operated automatically in a manner which is described below and producesa quantity of ice blocks determined by the capacity of the water reservoir Il, the receiver I8 being made sufficiently large to accommodate the blocks formed.

The details of construction of the ice freezing mechanism are more clearly shown in Figs. 2 and 3. 'I'he freezing mechanism .I6 issecurely held against the side of the evaporator I3 on'a supporting structure including vertical members 20 and 2I and a'n angle iron cross piece 22. Bolts or cap screws 23 are threaded into the cross piece 22 and, when tightened into place, press a block 2l constructed of aluminum or other suitable material of. good heat conductivity tightly against the side of the evaporator I3 in good heat exchange relation with the liquid refrig' erant within the evaporator. The block 24 is provided with a slightly tapered substantially cylindrical recess `or cell 25 extending there` through. A chamber or condenser 26 constructed of heat insulating material is mounted immediately below the block 24 with its upper portion threaded into the block and having a throat or opening in alignment with the cell 25 and constituting a continuation thereof. The cell 25 as thus formed in the block 24 and in the throat of the condenser 26 constitutes the ice freezing cell vor mold of the apparatus. The freezing cell is closed at its lower end by a. plunger head 2T and the plunger is arranged to be moved upwardly through the cell by operation 'of a rod 28. 'I'he chamber 26 is maintained filled with water supplied from a pan 3|! through a tube 3l. The level of the water within the pan 30 is maintained near the top of the cell 25; the level being determined by the level of an outlet 32 from the reservoir I1; the outlet 32 is fitted with a cap member 83having an outlet boss 34 within the pan 30. The level is maintained by the water seal formed about the opening in the boss34 which prevents the admission of air to the reservoir I1, the level being vrestored whenever the pan 30 is drained sufficiently to admit airto the reservoir I1. A valve 35 is mounted on a rod 36 passing through the boss 34 so that the reservoir I1 may be removed, filled with water and returned without spilling. The valve 35 closes the outlet when the reservoir I1 is lifted from its position as shown, the valve 35 dropping into its position over the-boss 34 when the rod 361s lifted from the pan 36.

The plunger 21 is constructed, so that it affordsl passage of water fromk the lower portion of the chamber 26 to the mold 25, a plurality of passages 38 having been provided for this purpose.

The plunger head 21 is constructed so that it is readily movable Within the cell 25, and it may be made of substantially smaller diameter than the internal diameter of the cell.

When water is admitted to the cell 25 the upper portion freezes around the heat conducting walls formed by the block 24. 1 The presence of the insulating wall 26 prevents or delays the freezing `of water in the lower portion of the cell so that the plunger 21 is not frozen into place.

In order to eject ice blocks from the c'ell 25 periodically, a cam 39y is provided to actuate the plunger rodv 28. The cam is driven through a gear 40 and-pinion 4I by an electric motor 42 arranged on a` bracket 43 outside the cabinet Ill.

' The ca m 39 is connected to the gear 4I) by a shaft 44 journaled in a bearing 45 on a mounting plate 46 on the outside wall of the cabinet. The shaft 44 is also mounted in bearings formed in supporting members 41 and 48 which are secured at their upper endsfto the block 24. The

lower` end of the plunger rod 28 yis secured to a cyrosshead 50 having a roller 5I mounted on a shaft 52, the ends'of the shaft 52 extendthrough slots 53 and54 in the side members 41 and 48, respectively to guide the crossl'iead. The roller I is v*held against' the "surface of the cam 39 by a compression spring 55 arranged between the crosshead 5D and a. support 56. holds the container 26 rigidly in y'position with respect to the side'members 41 and 48. In order to seal the chamber 26 about the rod 28 an expans'ible sealing bellows 51 is secured yto the rod 26 and to a bottom closure member .58 of the chamber 26. The bellows may be constructed of rubber of similar material, or may be of metal.

When the rod,28 is raised to press the plunger head 21 against a frozen block such as indicated at 60, the bellows 51 expands so that the loss of volume due to the removal of the block 6D is compensated substantially, and the new supply of water from the chamber 30 flows into the chamber 26 as the plunger is returned to its ,lower position after election of an ice block.

reservoir l1 while the plunger 21 is in its top sition.

The motor 42 is operated periodically to rotate thecam 39through a single revolution to raise the plunger 21 and to eject the ice block 60 and then to return the plunger to its lowermovably secured by a. bayonet fitting 62.

The support 56 tions of the cam are spaced so that suiiicient time is allowed to insure freezing of the block 60 to a desired depth. Since the tendency toward freezing the water around the plunger head 21 is minimized, a single setting of the rate or period of the control will be found adequate over a. considerable range of temperatures of the evaporator.

When an ice block is moved upwardly through the cell 25, it engages a spring finger 6I which extends across the path of movement of the block; this bends the finger upwardly then as the block is pushed out of. the cell,the. nger presses the block toward the right and elects or throws it laterally linto the collecting pan I8. The collecting pan I8 is held in contact with the walls of the evaporator I3 to which it is re- The temperature of the pan I8 may thus be maintained below freezing; ice blocks ejected from the cell are thrownimmedialy into the container and freezing together of the blocks is minimized.

'I'he control arrangement for the motor 42 is shown in Fig. 4. A synchronous timing motor 65 is connected across a suitable source of alternating current, indicated at 66, whenever a switch 61 is closed. 'I'he timing motor 65 is provided with a gear box 68 which rotates acam 69 at a rate determined by the freezing time for an ice Iblock within the cell. On-each revolution, the cam 69 closes a switch 1Il which energizes a solenoid or coil 1I to operate a switch 12. The lower contacts of the switch 12 closey the circuit `of the motor 42 and start the rotation of the gear 4I). When the gear rotates a cam 13 allows a switch 14 to close, the switch 14 together with the upper contacts of the switch 12 provides a holding circuit for the coil 1I. `This maintains the-motor 42 in operation regardless of the positioh of the cam 69 until the gear 46 has made one complete revolution. The relative rates of lrotation of the cam 69 and the gear 46 are such paratus shown in the drawings, the reservoir or bottle I1 is removed from the refrigerator and the cap 33 unscrewed from the outlet 32, the reservoir is then filled with waterand the cap replaced and the outlet 32 is turned in its downward position. The reservoir is placed on its supports in the refrigerator with the outlet 32 in the pan 30so that the bottom of the pan engagesthe rod 36 and opens the valve 35 thereby filling the reservoir 3Il to its normal level. The switch 61'is then turned to its on position, it being understood that the evaporator I3 is in operation to provide afreezing temperature. The size of the'flrst block 60 ejected from the mechanism depends, of course, upon the position of thecam 6.9 when the switch 61 was last turned to its "05 position. However, the blocks ejected after the first block'will normally be a uniformY size. The operation of the mechanism to freeze and eject ice blocks will continue as long as there is a supply of water to fill the cell to its freezing level. The size of the ice receiver I8 is preferably sufiicient to hold at least one batch of ice as determined by the quantity of the water in the reservoir I1. After this quantity of ice ing vheat said agees thestorageoi'h'onfoods oranicesupplyand thus avoidihenecemty ofempluvyingisheinV tu'lor of the for freezing and whilelhaveshownanarrangementofmyinvention in connection with a household refrigerating machine and a particular arrangement.

icscooling the freezing mold, other applications' willreadilybeapparenttotboseskilledinthe.

ari.` Idonottherefore, desiremyinventionto be limited to the particular construction 4shown and described, and I intend by the appended claims to cover all'modiiicatiom within the spiritandscopeotmyinventlon.

wim I claim ss new and desire'iesecurebyp Letters Patente! the United States is:

LAnapparatus formakingblocksoficeor 3. asnsppmmmmmngnnufi similar material comprising 'an upright cell and` aphmgerarrangedadjacentthebotiomportion oisaidcellgsaidcellhavingtheldwerportimo! its sidewalls oiheatinsulatingmaterialandtheupperpcrtionthereotoiheatcimducting material, means for cooling said upper poriiimoisaldwailstoireezeliquidinsaidcell, means for imparting upward movement to said phmger to elect a fmzenblock from and liquid supply means tor conducting liquid tothelowerporticnoisahicellwherebysaidceil issupplied with liduid upon upward movementoi ikplunger during the ejection oi' the troaen dAnpnaratus'iormakingblocksoiiceor' similar material cnprk'ring an upright cell havingheatconductinguppersidewallaathermailyinsulated chamberohavins anupper portioniormingthelowersidewallsofsaidcelland theremainingportionoi'thechamber constitutinganextensionoithesidewallsdisaidcell iorstoringliquidbebwsaid'cemaplunger arranzedadiacenttheupperportionoisaidcham- .ben'saidplungerbeingconstructed to :,iii'cn'clv oi liquid/between said chamber andsaid similar materlalcomprising a cell having'at.

leastaportionofitswallsconstructed oiheat condueiingmateriaLaplimger arranged toclose saidcellnearthebottomthereot,aconduitoi beni;insulatinginaiaeriaiconnectedincozmnuni-l cauonwiththelowerpox'tiouoi'saidcellifor Iiuiiiiiiziingtoaaidcellliquidiobei'roiiexi,means forconlingawalloi'saidcelltofreezetheliqld thereinsndmeansarrangedtomovesaidphmgerupwardlythroughsaidcellfor ejectinga trmblocktherefrom.

lAnapparahis'i'ormakingablockvoiiceor simllarmateriaicomprisingacellhavingrigid heat conducting side walls, means Iorupplyins tosaidcellliquidtobeirozemmeansiorcooling thewallsofsaidcelltofreezetheliquidtherein. means i'or preventing the freezing of said liquid Vnieai-thcbotiaolnoi'saidcell,meansiorpreming aniceblockupwardlythroughsaidcelltoeject saidhlochandasprlngiingerarrangedatthe cell, means for coolingithe upper side wallso! saidcell'tofreezelidnidinsaidcelLanameans for moving said plunger upwardly through said cellfi'or electing a rosen block from saidcell.

cooling the'heat conducting walls of `said cell to ireesetheporiicn oisaidliduidsupplyadjacent said walls, means for preventing. the freezing .dssmmxyornmudstthe-bouomofmd topofsaidcellinthepathottheejectedice- '3. Anapparatus i'or making blocks oi ice or similar material comprising a cell having heat conducting side walls, a plunger arranged to closcsaidcellnearthebottomthereoLmeansfor supplyingtosaidcellliquidtobefrmmeans icrcoolingthewailsoi'saidcellioireezethe liquidthereimmeansior preventing freezing of thcliquidatthebottomoisaidcelLandmeans arrangedtomovesaidplunger upwardly through ssidcelliorejectingaircnblcckthere'om. `4.Anappanhisiormakingblocksoiiceor similarmaterialcomprisingannpghtcelland l nluneer arranged adjacent the bottom portion of said cell, said ycell having the lower portionofitssidewallsconstruciedofheatinsulatmaterial and the upperportion of material, means for cooling upper portionroi' said walls to freeze liquid insaid cell. andmeansfor imparting upward movementtosaidplungertoeject froaenblocks .block for forcing the ejected. block laterally celLandmeansi'orpushingthetmzenblockup wardlyoutotsaidcelLwherebyidcellisreiilled Iromsaidsulmly. y

B Anapparatusformakingblocksoficeor bottomoisaidcelLablockelectingplungerarranged below said heat conducting wall ci nid Y cell, and automatic means for operating said plimger periodically to elect the ice block formed therein whereby said cell is periodically reiilled fromsaidslipply. i Y Y 9. An apparatus ior making blocks oi ice or lsimiliirmaizerialcomprising acell. means including a chamber below saidcell for maintainingaconstantslmplyofliquidtobeirosenata level corresponding to the top level in said dell. means for freezing the liquid inthe upper portion oi'said cell. aplunger arranged belowsaid upperporticnoisaidcelli'orejectingtbeirosm material upwardly from saidcelLsaid plunser extending through the wall oi' said chamber, and a sealing bellows within said chamber securedtosaidplimgerandtothewallofsaid chamberiorsealingthewailsoisaidchamber about said plunger whereby the loss of volume due to the electing oitheice block iscompensatedbytbeincreaseinvolumeoi'thcbellon while said plunger is in its raised position.

GEORGE S. HILL. 

